Imagine a life where your heart is always racing, fluttering, and unable to find a steady rhythm. For a 50-year-old Egyptian expat in Sharjah, Ola Mahmoud Ali this was more than just occasional anxiety; it was her everyday existence until a ground-breaking technology from Medcare Hospital Sharjah provided her <a href="https://menainsights.com/a-business-lunch-in-dubai-mall-with-front-row-burj-khalifa-views/”>with a renewed hope for a normal life.
The life changing procedure she underwent is known as Volt™ Pulsed-Field Ablation (PFA), which is an innovative technology that precisely eliminates the specific clusters of heart cells causing disruption, while leaving the adjacent healthy tissue entirely intact. Medcare Hospital Sharjah proudly stands as the first private hospital in the UAE to provide this service.
Dr. Mohammed Magdy, Consultant Cardiologist – Heart Rhythm Management and the doctor who led the procedure at Medcare Hospital Sharjah, stated, “This procedure marks a major advancement in our approach to treating heart rhythm disorders. We can now accurately pinpoint the exact source of the issue with a level of precision that was not possible before. According to him, the patient had been suffering from recurrent episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart rhythm disorder that can cause a fast and irregular heartbeat. This resulted in fatigue, along with shortness of breath and chest discomfort.
The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the UAE is increasing, driven by an aging demographic and elevated levels of risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes. Research indicates an age-standardized prevalence of around 424.7 per 100,000 in the UAE, with patients typically presenting at a younger age (mean age 63) than their Western counterparts.i
Following comprehensive clinical evaluations and cardiac investigations, the team at Medcare Hospital Sharjah determined that the condition required a more advanced intervention to control the abnormal heart rhythm. “This condition occurs when abnormal electrical signals disrupt the heart’s normal rhythm, leading to rapid and irregular beating that can significantly affect a patient’s daily life. Conventional treatments for AF typically rely on heat or cold to eliminate problematic tissue, which can be effective but it carries the potential risk of harming adjacent structures such as the inside structure of the throat or nerves. In contrast, Volt™ PFA adopts a completely novel method, deploying swift bursts of electrical energy to specifically target and deactivate only the cells that cause irregular signals.” said Dr. Magdy.
The Volt™ PFA System procedure is an advanced catheter technology that combines real-time electrical mapping and therapeutic ablation within a single device. Its innovative catheter design enables improved contact with targeted heart tissue, allowing physicians to accurately locate and treat the source of abnormal signals during the same procedure.
Dr. Magdy noted that treating atrial fibrillation is particularly important because the condition significantly increases the risk of serious complications if left unmanaged. “Uncontrolled atrial fibrillation can lead to long-term consequences such as stroke or heart failure. Early and effective treatment not only restores normal rhythm but can also reduce the likelihood of these life-threatening complications and greatly improve a patient’s quality of life.”
Cardiologists say advances like pulsed-field ablation are helping transform the treatment landscape for atrial fibrillation, offering patients safer procedures, shorter recovery periods, and more durable outcomes.